Hormones need space

They can be so brutal sometimes. I don't mean this in a bad way necessarily. I do appreciate them because they do regulate things in my body and mine are pretty healthy as far as I know. So YAY to that! But in the past week they've been bringing up stuff.

A week ago, I had a night I couldn't sleep. Then over the past weekend, I experienced some PMS symptoms that I haven't felt in a LONG time. A lot of sadness and grief came up. I've been missing my family back east and my recently passed Nana and Baba. In the past, I used to have really bad PMS, to the point where I just let it take me over. But now, since my awareness has increased, that doesn't happen so much. In fact, I allowed myself to experience it all.

On Sunday, it was all psychological. I was anxious and moody. Everything seemed to trigger me. I got support from my husband, as well as a friend. I also had some time alone, which was the best because I had a nice, healthy cry. Then I took a bath with some lavendar oil. What a concept! Take a break, give myself and those a hormones some space! Didn't women do this WAY BACK in the day? Didn't they, and everyone in the community, honor it? There's a book called "The Red Tent" that reflects this practice. I haven't read it yet, but plan to. So after taking the bath, I felt a little better.

Then Monday came it was all somatic. My body ached and I had brain fog. Again, when I got home, I took a bath with lavender and it eased the tension, so I could feel. I couldn't sleep that night either, but this time it only took an hour for me to fall asleep. As I laid in bed, I ran my energy pattern, a technique used in a lot of different energy work. I drew my attention to my right foot and started to trace a path up my leg, but it kept stopping at my pelvis. I did this 3 more times and it stopped in the same place, so I gave all my attention and breath to this area. It made sense, especially for this time of the month. Even my ovaries were active. After about 5 minutes, I started the path again and it went all the way up my body and didn't stop. I could finally go to sleep. YAY!

I really feel it's important for women to honor these times in their lives. We really don't do it enough. We tend to hold it in, and then forget to release it. I feel my hormones triggered these emotions of grief sadness for a reason. It's as if a part of my body needed to release it, and then my hormones were there as a back up. To let me know, there's some stuff that just has to go. I used to judge and criticize myself for feeling the way I feel during this time of the month, but not anymore. It's apart of a woman's life, so it's time to embrace it and not fight it.

Hormones

I'm taking a break from the birth control pill this month and it's been a long time since I've felt hormones! It's amazing what women's bodies do every month. WAY back in the day, when a woman was on her cycle, it was a sacred time for women. They would be pampered, respected and powerful. Same goes with birth. But this menstrual cycle is very intriguing. I guess I've never really thought about it in this way before. In the past, I used to just look at it as a pain in the ass; if i didn't get it during the usual time frame, OH SHIT!; I felt insane, emotional, gross and drained. Through my holistic health training, I've learned from other women how they embrace their menstrual cycle before, during and after. Why not work with my body, than against it? Why not love and support myself during this time, instead of being repulsed or agitated? Why not just be with it?
From seeing doctors and acupuncturists about PMS, I've learned over the years how my body reacts to diet during this sacred time. How caffeine, alcohol, and sugar can just exacerbate the symptoms. did women really have PMS back in the day? I'm talking medieval times here! I have this inkling that they didn't because it's such an important time for a women. It's almost like a cleanse. For years I used to get REALLY BAD PMS. I'd get anxious, agitated over nothing, bloated and my cravings would be harsh. I feel like now I know what to do for myself. Cut this and that out of my diet for the duration; take some alone time to myself; and most important, CELEBRATE BEING A WOMAN!